Thursday's Child
by MinervaDeannaBond
Summary: Upon his birth, James Bond is welcomed with joy and a prophecy that "Thursday's child has far to go." Indeed, he does have an extraordinary journey ahead of him. Rated T for sensitive material.


Ever since I saw _Skyfall, _I've been intrigued by Bond's background and how little we know about him - parents, birth, childhood, everything. This is a little glimpse into Bond's birth and how he was welcomed joyously by his parents, along with a little prophecy about the life ahead of him. The inspiration for this ficlet came from a rhyme I read in a novel that was a twist on the story of Jacob, set in Scotland. According to "Monday's Child," which is a fairly old English poem, each day the week bears a special significance for the child born then, and I looked at each one to see which would best fit Bond. In my opinion, it's Thursday, the one who has far to go. Bond has indeed had a long journey in life, and he still has a long way to go yet.

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_Monday's child is fair of face  
__Tuesday's child is full of grace  
__Wednesday's child is full of woe  
__Thursday's child has far to go  
__Friday's child is loving and giving  
__Saturday's child works hard for a living  
__And the child that is born on the Sabbath day  
__Is bonny and blithe and good and gay_

_Thursday, November 14, 1968_

"It's a boy! You have a son, Mrs. Bond!"

Her body limp from giving birth and the taste of salt from the sweat and tears of her labor still bitter on her tongue, Monique Delacroix Bond collapsed back against the pillows of her hospital bed, tears springing to her eyes once more… but these were tears of joy, joy at the birth of the child that she and her husband had prayed for so long. But the road to get to this point had not been an easy one. Three years into their marriage, Monique had discovered that she was pregnant with their first child, and Andrew was all but ready to pass out cigars and lager to his friends… but there was no time to light up when tragedy struck. Three months into her pregnancy, Monique was relaxing at home when pain suddenly riddled her stomach – like someone was trying to tear her apart from within. Andrew returned to Skyfall that afternoon to discover his wife sobbing in the bathroom next to a small pool of blood… and the remains of their unborn child. Monique remembered how, devastated though they both were, Andrew was her rock, promising her that they would try again.

"_Monique…"_

"_Andrew, why? What did I do wrong? Why did this happen?"_

"_You did nothing wrong. A lot of first pregnancies end in miscarriages, and I know that sounds callous, but I want you to know and believe that this was not your fault. We will get through this, darling."_

_Monique rolled over in bed, unable to look into her husband's blue eyes, which only regarded her with love, not blame. "Fine, but what about our baby? Our son or daughter never got a chance to live, to grow, to be loved."_

_Andrew's hand tenderly caressed her shoulder. "Our child is alive, Nicky, and we will see him – or her – again someday. The Almighty isn't done with us yet; we will have a child someday."_

_Monique turned back to face Andrew, his other hand stroking her hair and a smile touching his lips. "Do you really think so, Andrew?"_

"_Have faith, Nicky. And know that I'll always be here to comfort you."_

"_With your words?"_

_Andrew's smile widened and he placed a warm, loving kiss on his wife's lips. "My words, my body, and my soul," he whispered, pulling Monique into his arms and deepening their kiss, allowing love to wash away pain… and unbeknownst to them, a miracle to take place._

A miracle that Monique now welcomed into her arms as the doctor handed her newborn son to her for the first time. "Hello, my darling," she crooned softly to him, reaching out a finger to touch his soft baby cheek. Sleepily, the infant opened his eyes and looked up at her, causing Monique to weep with happiness once again. He was beautiful, with pink newborn skin, a dusting of blond hair, and huge, sky-blue eyes – her eyes staring back at her. "My beautiful boy."

The doctor smiled and stood back. "He's a fine one, he is, with a long journey ahead of him. He won't be short of adventures, that's for certain."

Monique looked up at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"'Thursday's child has far to go.' Don't tell me you've never heard of the poem 'Monday's Child,' Mrs. Bond."

"I have, but I never knew the meaning of it," Monique replied, a little uneasy. "Does it mean he'll have a difficult life because he was born on Thursday?"

"Hard to say. 'Far to go' means that a child born on Thursday will have a long journey in life, and it's his choices that decide whether or not that journey will bring hardships or blessings, or both. But one thing's for certain: every life's journey is full of adventures. It's up to us to determine the outcome. Right now, he's begun it with a blessing: a mother who loves him."

Her fears assuaged, Monique clutched her son closer to her breast and smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Doctor. Tell Mr. Bond I'd like to see him now."

The doctor nodded and disappeared out the door; not five minutes later, Andrew Bond entered, beaming from ear to ear. "Are you all right, love?" he asked, dropping a kiss on his wife's forehead as he came to stand beside her bed.

"I'm fine," Monique replied, returning her husband's kiss with one on the lips. Smiling, she glanced first at the bundle of blankets in her arms and then back up at Andrew. "Meet your son, Andrew, the one who has far to go."

"Thursday's child," Andrew murmured, leaning over to stroke his baby's cheek. "We'll make sure he has a good journey ahead of him." He suddenly laughed aloud when the baby poked a hand out of the blankets and gripped his finger. "Well, hello there, my boy! You've got a fine grip, haven't you?"

"A fine grip and a fierce kick to match; if his footwork inside the womb is anything to go by, he's going to be either a football player or a government agent, given their reputation for kicking bums."

"Ye gods, I hope not," Andrew chuckled. "In the meantime, he needs a name. I know you wanted to choose his middle name."

"Andrew," Monique said without hesitation. "After the strong man his father is."

Andrew smiled and looked down, flushed with his wife's praise. "Thank you, Nicky. As long as we're discussing meanings here, I have an idea for his Christian name. Since he's the supplant to the child we lost, I thought we might call him James."

"James," Monique repeated, looking down at her son as though he might respond to the name. "James Andrew Bond. I like it."

"So be it," Andrew said, taking the baby in his arms and regarding him with joyous eyes. "Welcome to the world. Thursday's child might have far to go, but you're going to have a great journey ahead of you… James Bond."

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A note on the name meanings here: "James" means "supplanter" or "to supplant," which in turn means to replace, which gave me the idea that Monique may have suffered a miscarriage prior to carrying Bond. "Andrew" means "strong" and "manly," and Bond is definitely both! Please review if you have the time!


End file.
